H1N1 Flu death toll could be less than feared says Mexico

The H1N1 death toll could now be less than first feared, as Mexico health officials have revised the number from 176 to 101, as the mortality rate was found to be comparable to that of a seasonal flu, so it may not be specifically from the H1N1 virus.

Mexico is shut down for five days as officials work to contain the virus, but a World Health Organisation official said that there is no evidence that a sustained virus outbreak has occurred outside North America.

WHO Director of Global Alert and Response Dr. Michael Ryan said:

The Organisation also said that they were sending 2.4 million courses of an antiviral treatment to over 72 countries around the world as they are still trying to establish how severe the outbreak could be.

The first case has been reported in Italy and Iowa today, while in Egypt, more than 300,000 pigs are to be slaughtered, which officials are now saying is a move to restore order in the pig-rearing industry, as it has been proven that H1N1 cannot be caught from pigs.

Outside of Mexico, five cases have confirmed person to person infection, and travel companies and airline operators are still canceling or suspending operations to and from Mexico.

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